The South African Communist Party greets the people’s determination and their actions in the epoch of Swaziland’s revolutionary crisis. Our party supports the victory of Swazi popular forces as a victory that will place the political struggle in the region on a new advanced footing. It will mark a sea of change and intensify the […]
Archive | News
News updates or analysis.
Sectarian Slogans in Syria
There are some sectarian slogans being chanted by SOME (not all) protesters in Syria (they refer to the need for “Sunnis who fear God”). It is an opportunity to make this point: if one supports protests and revolutions against all Arab regimes (and Iran), it does not follow that one should endorse all strands […]
COSATU to Swazi King: Stop Your Crime, or We’ll Block SA-Swazi Trade
COSATU Mpumalanga memorandum directed to King Mswati III delivered during the protest march held on 12 April 2011 at the Oshoek border gate 12 April 2011 His Majesty King Mswati III Today, the 12 April 2011 members of the Congress of South African Trade Unions, together with the Alliance partners are gathered here at the […]
Comrade Gagarin
“An astronaut son of a carpenter, Yuri Gagarin, a son of Red October” I Giovani Comunisti/e (Young Communists) is the youth wing of the Partito della Rifondazione Comunista (Communist Refoundation Party). Music by Banda Bassotti (“Juri Gagarin”). Cf. “Gagarin’s experience shows that the son of a Soviet carpenter enjoyed material foundations to make it […]
Lebanon: Thousands Demonstrate for Abolition of Sect-based Electoral System
Thousands of Lebanese took to the streets on Sunday to demand the abolition of the sect-based electoral system in Lebanon, according to which the key political offices are apportioned among religious communities. The demonstrators, starting from the national museum in Beirut, marched to the parliament. They demanded the overturning of the sect-based system and democratic […]
Mid-East Upheaval: What the Empire Sees
The US left and progressives have been preoccupied about what we can do to impact events in the Mid-East, particularly obsessing about what we can do to counter US intervention. In general, it is good to want to act, not just talk or analyze, in a crisis situation. However, despite the valiant and necessary […]
On the Acquittal of Terrorist Luis Posada Carriles
In the afternoon of April 8, 2011, the farce that had begun thirteen weeks ago in El Paso, Texas, came to an end when terrorist Luis Posada Carriles was acquitted of all the charges pressed against him during a migration trial. To all those who have been following the sinister history behind this terrorist […]
Ohio House Bill 153: “Charter Universities” and Increasing Teaching Loads
Testimony of Sara Kaminski, Executive Director,Ohio Conference of the American Association of University Professors,before the House Finance Subcommittee on Higher Education, 7 April 2011 Chairman Gardner, Ranking Member Garland, and distinguished members of the Higher Education Subcommittee: my name is Sara Kaminski, and I am the Executive Director of the Ohio Conference of the […]
Collective Bargaining — Essential to Democracy
Recent events in Wisconsin have highlighted the necessity of collective bargaining. The governor of Wisconsin notwithstanding, collective bargaining is recognized internationally in numerous conventions, constitutions, and courts as a human right. Legal Background Our Constitution addresses the right of collective bargaining. The Thirteenth Amendment provides that “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment […]
On the Result of the Icesave Referendum
The Icelandic nation has now delivered its verdict and shouldered unequivocally the responsibility it is granted by the Constitution. The turnout was high by Western standards, and this, together with the extensive and thorough debate in the run-up to the referendum, shows clearly how important the issue was to the nation. The people have […]
Whither Syria?
Flynt Leverett, a professor of international affairs at Penn State and a senior fellow at the New America Foundation, is the author of Inheriting Syria: Bashar’s Trial by Fire. Andrew Tabler, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, is the author of the forthcoming book In the Lion’s Den: An Eyewitness […]
Socialist and/or Feminist?
This year, 8 March marked a century of the celebration of International Women’s Day. But aside from a few publications and websites of women’s movements, this event went largely unremarked in the mainstream press, and also in the public consciousness. The idea of International Women’s Day was born in the socialist movement in the first […]
Current PEs Make Risk-Free Rate of Return on Public Pensions Highly Unlikely
Debate over public pension funds continues unabated across the nation. Some have argued that states should assume a risk-free rate of return on pension fund assets, which makes funding shortfalls appear considerably larger. A new calculator from the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) demonstrates that such a low rate of return is extremely […]
Japan’s Nuclear Power Plant Workers, Exposed to Radiation, Hidden from Sight
隠された被爆労働：日本の原発労働者 Kenji Higuchi (樋口健二) is a photographer in Japan, acclaimed for his work of documenting the effects of industrial pollution and the exploitation of nuclear power plant workers. This documentary film was released by Channel 4 (UK) in 1995. Cf. Tim Shorrock, “Japan’s Nuclear Nightmare (Part One)” (18 March 2011); Tim Shorrock, “Japan’s Nuclear […]
I ♡ NATO
“Fortunately, they are our ‘allies.’” Victor Nieto is a cartoonist in Venezuela. His cartoons frequently appear in Aporrea and Rebelión. This cartoon was first published in his blog on 7 April 2011; it is reproduced here for non-profit educational purposes. Translation by Yoshie Furuhashi (@yoshiefuruhashi | yoshie.furuhashi [at] gmail.com). Cf. Alan J. Kuperman, “5 Things […]
British Peace Delegation Departs for Libya
Roshan Muhammed Salih: Angered by the NATO bombing of Libya, this delegation made up of British academics, lawyers, and journalists set off from London’s Heathrow Airport on a peace mission to Tripoli. Their intention is to emphasize that the Western intervention isn’t altruistic and has made the situation there worse. Dave Roberts: It’s really […]
Taking Over the West
Hi, my name is Sukant Chandan. I’m 32 years old. I was born in Chandigarh in North India, in Punjab, in April 1978. I always say, teasingly to my parents, they brought me here, in the winter of 1981 without my consent, at the age of three and a half. . . . I remember […]
Egypt: This Battle Is Far from Over
It has finally sunk in that the Egyptian military are not on the side of the people. Egyptians are up against a military apparatus that is maintaining the status quo “system.” In other words, we are confronting a global neo-liberal regime whereby the Egyptian government would follow the instructions of the powerful: protect Israel, obey […]
Ohio: Rally to Kick Off the Referendum Campaign to Repeal Senate Bill 5
Saturday, April 9thNoon — 3:00 PMOhio Statehouse Broad St. at High St. Columbus (function() { var scribd = document.createElement(“script”); scribd.type = “text/javascript”; scribd.async = true; scribd.src = “http://www.scribd.com/javascripts/embed_code/inject.js”; var s = document.getElementsByTagName(“script”)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(scribd, s); })(); For more information, call 614-224-8271 or visit <www.weareohio.com>. var idcomments_acct = ‘c90a61ed51fd7b64001f1361a7a71191’; var idcomments_post_id; var idcomments_post_url; | Print
Address to the “We Are Ohio” Rally to Kick Off the Referendum Campaign to Repeal Senate Bill 5
I find it no coincidence that we gather on the week following the commemoration of the 43rd anniversary of the assassination of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was meeting to speak on behalf of garbage workers who sought the ability to collectively bargain. They wanted, like you, […]
